Short Interest in KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY) Increases By 77.3%

KBC Group NV (OTCMKTS:KBCSY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 58,500 shares, a growth of 77.3% from the March 15th total of 33,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 56,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KBCSY. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KBC Group in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of KBC Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th.

KBC Group Trading Up 0.7 %

OTCMKTS:KBCSY traded up $0.32 on Friday, hitting $45.28. 26,040 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,405. The company has a market cap of $37.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.85. KBC Group has a 1 year low of $33.98 and a 1 year high of $47.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.98.

KBC Group (OTCMKTS:KBCSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. KBC Group had a net margin of 13.32% and a return on equity of 14.40%. On average, research analysts forecast that KBC Group will post 4.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About KBC Group

KBC Group NV, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated bank-insurance services primarily for retail, private banking, small and medium sized enterprises, and mid-cap clients. The company offers demand deposits and savings accounts; home and mortgage loans; consumer finance and SME funding services; credit, investment fund and asset management, and life and non-life insurance; and cash management, payments, trade finance, lease, money market, capital market products, and stockbroking services.